Dave Dieter/Huntsville TimesMary Bryson is a longtime volunteer at the Huntsville/Madison County Senior Center and urges others to find the same joy she has.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- First off, this isn't about Mary Bryson.

But it could be.

She volunteers at the Huntsville/Madison County Senior Center, actively recruits volunteers, raises money and serves on the board.

Bryson even gave an impromptu tour of the sprawling facility to a visitor on Thursday.

"I can't say enough about this place," Bryson said.

Indeed, Bryson would fit the profile of a Good Person.

But this isn't about Mary Bryson.

Still, her experience can be a path for other volunteers to follow.

"It was not until my mother (Mary Lackey) came to live with me that I really learned about the inner workings of the organization," Bryson wrote in a summary of her feelings about the Senior Center.

"I drove my mother to the center every morning and picked her up in the afternoon. She had lunch there and met and made friends with many people. She participated in many of the activities - especially those in the art department."

When Bryson's mother passed away seven years ago, her daughter became even more devoted to the Senior Center.

"One of my goals in life is to give assistance to others," Bryson wrote.

A quick story: Bryson volunteers for the Meals on Wheels program that provides food for about 200 homebound seniors. The homebounds, Bryson said, "get to feel like family."

And families love a good laugh.

There was one particular woman on the route, and the joke over time became that she was secretly keeping a man in the house. The woman enjoyed the joke as much as those who told it.

"One day the Senior Center gave us an extra meal by mistake," Bryson said, "and I went in to see her and I said, 'Even the Senior Center knows that man is here.' "

When Bryson was first approached about this story, she resisted the attention. She finally negotiated that the attention would be focused on the Senior Center and not on her.

But this is one bit of focus on Bryson that she won't mind.

Bryson wants others to share in the joy she has found serving at the Senior Center.

"We have many projects ongoing, projects that require funds and volunteers," she wrote. "We invite everyone in our community to visit the Senior Center and see what a great organization it is."

So maybe the timing of Bryson's plea isn't so ironic after all. Today being the first day of 2011, the time is ripe for a New Year's resolution.

"Just come, take a tour of the center, and jump in and help us out," Bryson wrote. "You will be so fulfilled when you offer yourself as a volunteer."